CBD Offers Hope

Entrepreneur and award winner (Notable.ca 2015 entrepreneur of the year) Cassandra Hope is a 36-year-old RHN (registered holistic nutritionist). She is a healthy and happy certified personal trainer and life coach who resides in Leslieville, Toronto. The IBS Academy was founded by her, as was the Health style by Cassandra Hope program. These days, Cassandra lives an uplifting, positive, and spiritual life, but things weren’t always so peaceful.

Cassandra overcame many a hardship, including chronic infections and mental health issues. At first, life was difficult for Cassandra, as her mother was an alcoholic. With 21% of Canadian people enduring alcoholism or at risk of it, it is believed that the disease affects those who have it, as those around people who suffer from it.

This was the case for Cassandra, who needed to mature fast for the sake of taking care for herself (since her mother wasn’t up to the task). When she turned 10, her parents separated, and her mother moved into a relationship that eventually became abuse both physically and mentally.

For 24 months, Cassandra didn’t know if her mother would bring food home, if the utility bills would be paid, or if she would be attacked in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, after a couple of years, Cassandra found refuge in her father’s residence, bidding farewell to her mother before she even became a teenager.

Living with her father proved to be safer, but the lack of parental care from those early years would affect her emotional development. This resulted in depression, high anxiety, unhealthy relationships, and insomnia, which are all symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). As Cassandra aged, she decided to self-medicate, using copies amounts of drugs and alcohol to deal with her suffering and pain.

Alcohol and drugs are a very common combination for people in their twenties, but in Cassandra’s case, she was using them too much. She couldn’t stop, and her anxiety was dominating her mind, at times leaving her unable to leave the house, let alone her bed.

When she turned thirty, Cassandra knew she had to make some changes in her life. She knew she wanted to tidy up the mess she made for herself. Besides her mental health, she also suffered physically, and before long, developed a case of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

Because of her family history, Cassandra knew she was susceptible to addiction; she opted to do some genetic assessments to get officially diagnosed. The results revealed that Cassandra carried a gene that made it hard for her brain to bind dopamine properly. This made it hard for her to carry dopamine for an average duration, putting her at risk for addiction when she became stressed out.

As she began her path to recovery, she initially tried to train her brain to operate better through Neuro feedback Therapy. The actions and brain waves are seen from one moment to another, and the brain is rewarded for modifying its activity to more relevant habits through a progressive process of learning. Self-regulation is part of the training given by Neuro feedback, which is a required aspect of positive healthy brain function. The central nervous system functions better with self-regulation training.

This form of therapy proved to be successful for Cassandra, but she wasn’t completely satisfied. She still suffered physically with digestive problems and chose to meet a naturopathic and homeopathic specialist. However, the suggested health plan was ineffective. She kept enduring sleeplessness, intermittent IBS, and anxiety. All Cassandra wanted to do was “hold down a job,” plain and simple.

Cassandra then started the SIBO program, which is a restore program for those suffering from IBS and stomach issues. The program offers products, tools, and motivation with instructional methods to minimize stomach problems. The program is effective in enhancing gut health in the long run and produces the required patterns to stop such issues from reoccurring.

Once Cassandra finished the program, she felt uplifted about all aspects of her life. She found out that the IBS she was going through was stimulated by most of her mental health and emotional troubles. She was thrilled to get answers about herself for the first time. She was able to work every day without taking naps, and was no longer addicted to anything. Still, the inflammation had not gone away, which developed lackluster ventilation for toxins. Although she had substantial relief and improvement in her health, she was still feeling negative on an ongoing basis.

Last summer, Cassandra began smoking cannabis with her new boyfriend. Within weeks, she started to undergo depressive feelings. She ceased smoking pot right away, but while she was using, she noticed that her IBS symptoms had gone away. Her stress levels were the lowest they had ever been, she felt a sense of overall wellness, and for the first time, she had a calm nervous system.

Cassandra knew she was onto something. She finished researching cannabis and learned that the plant lowers serotonin, but raised melatonin – which was what was triggering her depression. As such, she knew she couldn’t keep smoking weed. With a large amount of marijuana out there, she chose to get some assistance and ask for suggestions on the right kind to use. That’s when she discovered hemp capsules, and ultimately, CBD.

Cassandra was astonished by the results that came right away. Her symptoms had gone away, and her levels of energy skyrocketed. She finally achieved complete wellness that she had been striving for.

With a single pill at day’s end, Cassandra falls asleep gently and easily.

For half a year now, Cassandra’s been taking the hemp capsules and claims the results are miraculous. PTSD produces a downward spiral that affects every aspect of one’s health. Cassandra did all she could to react to the stress, including making dietary changes, taking prescription meds, trying out spiritual healing, and living an active lifestyle, but nothing truly worked. CBD was the one thing that provided the relief she longed for.

Today, Cassandra wants to stop the stigma that comes with this therapeutic plant. She endeavors to help people modify the way they see it and aid them in comprehending its real power. In the process, she intends to inspire hope.